COVID-19 News,
Reports, and Reflections
August 7, 2020
News:
Florida COVID-19 cases pass 500,000 mark
The number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Florida has passed the half-million mark. With Wednesday's report, 502,739 people have tested positive since the start of the pandemic. State health officials reported 5,409 positive tests since Tuesday. Florida is the second state after California to record 500,000 cases. Read more.
COVID-19 & school reopenings
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When a student tests positive for the coronavirus, each school district must oversee contact tracing with guidance from the Health Department. Classmates may have to quarantine at home. But what constitutes an outbreak? That's left to the health department, which doesn't specify how many cases might close a school. Read more.
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Teachers, State In Court To Argue Whether Schools Are Safe To Reopen
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How Safe Is Your School's Reopening Plan? Here's What To Look For
CMS announces a temporary policy for premium reductions
As part of the agency’s efforts to facilitate the nation’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) public health emergency (PHE), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a policy that will allow issuers to offer temporary premium reductions for individuals with 2020 coverage in the individual and small group markets. CMS is providing this additional flexibility to help ensure that consumers struggling to pay their premiums can continue to be covered and receive the care they may need during this time. This temporary policy will be in effect until the end of 2020. Issuers are generally prohibited under current federal requirements from changing premiums for health insurance coverage offered in the individual and small group markets after the start of the benefit year. Click here to view the guidance.
More hand sanitizers recalled as possibly ‘toxic’
Another batch of hand sanitizer recalls came down Friday, all of which were among the recent additions that pushed the FDA’s Do Not Use hand sanitizer list past 100. Review the list.
Avoiding care during pandemic could mean life or death
A Harris poll on behalf of the American Heart Association found roughly 1 in 4 adults experiencing a heart attack or stroke would rather stay at home than risk getting infected with the coronavirus at the hospital. These concerns are higher in Black (33%) and Hispanic (41%) populations, said Dr. Mitchell Elkind, president of the American Heart Association and a professor of neurology and epidemiology at Columbia University. Read more. |
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Reports:
America's obesity epidemic threatens effectiveness of any COVID-19 vaccine
Scientists know that vaccines engineered to protect the public from influenza, hepatitis B, tetanus and rabies can be less effective in obese adults than in the general population, leaving them more vulnerable to infection and illness. There is little reason to believe, obesity researchers say, that COVID-19 vaccines will be any different. Read more.
After 'severe' delays, 6 states band together to buy coronavirus tests
Six states led by a bipartisan group of governors are joining together in an effort to speed up coronavirus testing. As the nation's death count continues to rise above 150,000, the states said they will jointly purchase 3 million rapid antigen tests that can quickly detect the virus. The group includes Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio and Massachusetts. Read more.
Medicaid enrollment expected to top 4.3 million
It is expected to balloon by more than 14 percent during the state’s current fiscal year, with economists predicting an average monthly enrollment of 4.36 million people. It comes as millions of Floridians have lost jobs or lost income because of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.
Fauci explains the 'insidious increase' that has officials worried about new COVID surges
Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, M.D., warned the signs indicate more states could experience serious jumps in COVID-19 cases in the next month, following in the footsteps of a handful of southern states that have been hit with surges of the virus in recent weeks. In a discussion on Monday with JAMA's Editor-in-Chief Howard Bauchner, Fauci reiterated his concern of what could happen in the next month in light of figures showing new cases in the U.S. topping 60,000 per day. Watch the interview (approx. 31 minutes).
COVID-19 hospital data system that bypasses CDC is plagued by delays, inaccuracies
When the Trump administration told hospitals to send crucial data about coronavirus cases and intensive care capacity to a new online system, it promised the change would be worth it. The data would be more complete and transparent and an improvement over the old platform run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administration officials said. Instead, the public data hub created under the new system is updated erratically and is rife with inconsistencies and errors, data analysts say. Read more.
Studies gauge role of schools, kids in spread of COVID-19
When officials closed US schools in March to limit the spread of COVID-19, they may have prevented more than 1 million cases over a 26-day period, a new estimate published online this week in JAMA suggests. But school closures also left blind spots in understanding how children and schools affect disease transmission. "School closures early in pandemic responses thwarted larger-scale investigations of schools as a source of community transmission," researchers note in a separate study published online July 30 in JAMA Pediatrics that examined levels of viral RNA in children and adults with COVID-19. Read more. |
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Reflections:
10 tips for well-being amid COVID-19
The global pandemic has professional and personal consequences for physicians, so experts offer their advice on coping during COVID-19. Review the 10 tips here.
Guest Editorial: Stop The Spread; Failure To Contain COVID-19 Is Not An Option
The opinion piece urging all of Floridians to wear face masks, practice social distancing and good hygiene, has been signed by 135 academic, business, community and health care leaders across Florida. Read more.
From ‘brain fog’ to heart damage, COVID-19’s lingering problems alarm scientists
Athena Akrami’s neuroscience lab reopened last month without her. Life for the 38-year-old is a pale shadow of what it was before 17 March, the day she first experienced symptoms of the novel coronavirus. At University College London (UCL), Akrami’s students probe how the brain organizes memories to support learning, but at home, she struggles to think clearly and battles joint and muscle pain. “I used to go to the gym three times a week,” Akrami says. Now, “My physical activity is bed to couch, maybe couch to kitchen.” Read the report.
CDC COVID-19 mental health resources and strategies
Many people are experiencing grief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grief is a normal response to loss during or after a disaster or other traumatic event. Grief can happen in response to loss of life, as well as to drastic changes to daily routines and ways of life that usually bring us comfort and a feeling of stability. CDC Grief & Loss webpage
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#MaskUp: Stop the spread of COVID-19
The data is in - wearing a mask saves lives. According to the CDC, if everyone wears a mask over the next 4-8 weeks we could drastically reduce cases of COVID-19. So even if you feel fine, #MaskUp to protect yourself and those around you. As physicians and medical students, you can help patients understand their risks for transmission through clear and simple communication, rooted in science. Use the AMA's campaign toolkit to share #Maskup images on social media, in your office, and anywhere in between. #Maskup Toolkit.
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The HCMA Foundation Physician Wellness Program provides a safe harbor for members to address life difficulties, especially during this time of uncertainty and challenges due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19.
Click below for additional
HCMA COVID-19 Resources:
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DOH call center, available 24/7
1 (866) 779-6121
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